Getting Back on the Bike

David A. Grant blogs about life after brain injury

My name is David A. Grant. I am a husband, a father, and a son. On November 11, 2010, I was unceremoniously forced to start closing the book on my old life and begin life anew as someone with a traumatic brain injury. My brain injury is singularly the most life-changing event of my life.

In this space, I will offer you the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a survivor. I'll share my victories, my defeats, my pains, and my joys. My hope for other people with brain injury is that they will see reflections of their own lives in my words and know they are not alone. Learn more about David >

The Latest from David

It’s time to put a label on one of my biggest fears as a brain injury survivor: Backsliding. Over the last couple of months, I began to fear that this was happening to me until another survivor shared with me that lack of sleep exacerbated brain injury symptoms. And in two ticks of a clock, the lightbulb went on over my head.

As the years pass, things get easier, life gets easier. But brain injury is patient. Every now and then, life happens, and my brain injury challenges come back to the forefront. It’s like my injury says to me, “Knock, knock, I’m still here!”

Early on, I thought that all brain injuries were traumatic. Over time, as I moved through Brain Injury Academy, I learned that there are traumatic brain injuries as well as acquired brain injuries. While the root causes are vastly different, the aftermath is the same. It’s akin to different lyrics set to the same music.

My biggest fear was laid out in front of me: What if my most difficult brain injury challenges return with a vengeance? I don’t want to be “that guy” who did well for years, only to sink back into the abyss. It happens to others, and it could happen to me.

Things take longer than they used to. I have slowed down. Sure, some of it can be attributed to getting older, but most of the new, slower pace that life has taken on is injury related. I’ve found that in that slower pace, life has become rewarding in very unexpected ways

“Regular exercise bathes the brain in a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. This specific protein has been shown to speed brain injury recovery.” That was all it took to fuel my hunger to learn more about BDNF...

Shortly after my injury, I heard someone describe life after brain injury as “the new normal.” Frankly, I could not stand that phrase. There was nothing normal about my life during those difficult early years after my injury.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation, which is dedicated to ensuring that impacted post-9/11 veterans, service members, and their families are thriving long after they return home.